Attracted by his passion for film and food, and a design aesthetic beyond his years, Black Logic has signed Alessandro Swainston as a designer/director, announced vice president and executive producer Karen Stewart. Black Logic is a comprehensive, creative collaboration company offering full-service visual effects, graphic design, high-end compositing, 2D and 3D animation, and complete live-action production.

NewTek has named Jim Plant to the newly created position of executive vice president of business and strategic development. NewTek is a leading provider of full-featured video editing, animation and special effects tools. The company's products are used worldwide on projects ranging from home video, broadcast television and feature films (CHARLIE'S ANGELS, HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS, X-MEN). "Jim is a proven executive who is very familiar with the video and 3D marketplace," said Tim Jenison, CEO and founder of NewTek.

Continuing the vigorous expansion of its presence in New York, the Click 3x Group has hired Michael Porte, the co-founder of Mad River Post, to serve as managing director of its digital studio. The move to Click 3x heralds a return to visual effects for Porte, who previously was a producer at Intercom, CPC and Coast Effects. Porte will supervise all day-to-day activities at Click 3x, New York, with particular emphasis on growing the studio and reinventing its role to suit the future needs of the advertising and broadcast industries.

David Forbes, former executive vice president of Orion Pictures Corp. and president of MGM/UA Distribution Company, has been named CEO of Global Animation Holdings, whose family of companies includes Los Angeles-based Spectrum Studios and Manila, Philippines-based ImagineAsia and VirtualMagic Asia. Forbes assumes the new post immediately.

Michael Garner and Laura Lockwood have been named producers at PDI/DreamWorks’ commercial division, transitioning from the company’s feature animation division after their completion of work on SHREK. Immediately following his work as production supervisor for the SHREK character development department, Garner began work for the commercial division, jumping directly onto the production of a Kool-Aid spot shooting in Australia.

Rick Hassen has joined digital effects boutique Sea Level as executive producer. Hassen, a former senior vice president with Pacific Ocean Post, Santa Monica, will oversee in-house production and other day-to-day activities for the company. He will also work directly with Sea Level founders Jim Bond and Ben Gibbs in charting the future direction of the company and developing new markets for its services. In making the announcement, Bond cited Hassen's broad background in production and post-production.

Technology leader SGI announced new appointments within its senior management team, including the appointment of Hal Covert as the company's President. "Since joining SGI, Hal has had a positive impact on our operational execution and the efficiency of related business processes," said Bob Bishop, chairman and chief executive officer.

Greg Boegner has been named senior vice president and general manager of eKids Internet, a private, secure Internet-based network designed especially for children. eKids is one of a number of such networks developed by SilverTech, Inc., creator of Private Internet Engine (P.I.E.) technology, founded in February 1997 by former telecommunications executive, El St. John. Other company vertical markets include eDistributors, eLawyer, eUniversity, eShipping, eFinance, eGovernment and eMedicine.

Michael Dudok de Wit, who won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short for his acclaimed film FATHER AND DAUGHTER, has donated to charity the high definition television he won for giving the shortest acceptance speech (18 seconds) at the Oscar awards ceremony. Dudok de Wit, who lives in London, donated the television to Hollygrove, L.A.’s oldest non-sectarian residential facility for abused children. Founded in 1880 as the Los Angeles Orphans Home Society, Hollygrove has served over 15,000 orphaned, abused and neglected children.

Alan Keith, chief administrative officer and vice president of Lucas Digital, announced that Robert Rieders has been named general counsel of Lucas Digital Ltd. LLC. Rieders will also serve as corporate secretary to the Lucas Digital board of directors "We are very pleased that Rob Rieders is joining our organization," said Keith. "Lucas Digital is looking at a future that encompasses continued growth, with projects of scope and size unlike anything in our first twenty-five years.